Ford launches Camper Assist
Ford has launched an enhanced roadside recovery service covering all new Ford-based campervans and motorhomes.
The new initiative, Ford Camper Assist, was launched alongside the new Ford-based Swift Trekker, and is part of a standard package of aftersales services Ford offers buyers of any campervan or motorhome built on a new 2024 Ford Transit or Transit Custom at no extra cost.
As such, it will be available to buyers of the Ford Nugget and campervans and motorhomes built by major converters such as Swift, but also conversions of Fords carried out by smaller manufacturers.
Cover includes up to five nights in a four-star hotel while the ’van is being repaired, an ‘onward journey’ offering, where flexible transport options will be offered to get passengers and their belongings (including bikes) to where they are going, and a suitable replacement vehicle for up to five days.
Ford spokesman, Brian Gordon, Aftersales Manager at Ford Pro, explained that the new package, which is essentially an enhanced roadside assistance service, has been created specifically for Ford-based campervan owners and guarantees that, regardless of whether the reason for a breakdown is base vehicle or conversion-related, it will attend.
“We have improved all the elements of the standard roadside warranty to cover the extras a campervan owner may need if they break down,” Brian said, adding that if a vehicle cannot be repaired either at the roadside or at a local garage and needs to be returned to the UK for example, Ford will not just repatriate the owners and their vehicle but also all their belongings, including bikes and surfboards.
He also said the cover extends across the UK and Europe and that the call centre is UK-based.
To get the cover, buyers do need to ensure the model is registered with Ford as a campervan or motorhome and that the cover is activated when they collect their new campervan from the dealer or manufacturer. This is to ensure the correct cover is in place and that buyers get the full year’s cover that comes as standard (it is expected that Ford will offer the option to extend this Camper Assist care package to two or three years but currently it is just available for the first year).
It is also to ensure that, should a Ford-based motorhome break down and need recovering, Ford sends the correct type of recovery truck that can cope with a motorhome.